This invention relates to a suspension control apparatus for use with an automotive vehicle supported on front and rear pairs of road wheels to control the damping force characteristic of each of the shock absorbers interposed between a sprung mass (vehicle body) and an unsprung mass (corresponding one of the road wheels).
For example, Japanese Patent Kokai No. 2-237809 discloses an automotive vehicle suspension control apparatus for controlling the damping force characteristics of the respective shock absorbers provided on an automotive vehicle. The conventional suspension control apparatus employs a lateral G sensor for producing a sensor signal indicative of a sensed vehicle lateral acceleration. The sensor signal is converted into a signal indicative of the rate of change of the vehicle lateral acceleration. The conventional suspension control apparatus is arranged to reduce the influence of the lateral acceleration on the vehicle driving feeling by controlling the shock absorbers to have increased damping forces when the converted signal has the same phase as the sensor signal and to have decreased damping forces when the converted signal has a phase opposite to that of the sensor signal. Since the damping forces are controlled based on the sensor signal in the same manner when the vehicle rolls due to disturbances such as road surface inputs produced when the vehicle is running in a straight line as controlled when the vehicle rolls due to vehicle steering operation, however. It is very difficult to ensure both of vehicle steering stability and comfortable vehicle driving feeling,